Sangamon Sun

GOP gubernatorial Jesse Sullivan is calling out Democrats over the loss of Boeing after the aerospace company announced it was moving out of state. 

“Boeing's departure is the latest example of how Democrat leadership is completely failing Chicago and Illinois,” Sullivan said in a press release. “Temporary tax bribes to companies cannot paper over decades of fiscal mismanagement and the worst tax burden of any state. Add in rising crime that makes workers feel unsafe, as well as a corruption tax and politicians who care more about the next election than the jobs of the future, and we’re in for a lot more stories like this one. We need a change.” 

Sullivan laid down his plans on how to make the state better for families, workers, and businesses. He said he intends to crack down on corruption, clean up the streets and "fix our worst-in-the-nation tax burden, or we’re going to keep leading the nation in losses, not growth.”

“For businesses, we need regulatory reform and a long-term commitment to growth to move Illinois from a temporary stopover to an attractive forever home to new families and businesses," he said.

In early May, Boeing — the world’s most productive airplane manufacturer — announced it would be departing the state. The aerospace giant first moved to Chicago in 2001 from its birthplace of Washington. During the pandemic, the company saw steep layoffs removing 16,000 jobs, over 10% of the company’s entire workforce.

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) hailed the move.

“As the former Governor of Virginia, I was proud to secure Virginia’s standing as the best state for business and the best-managed state, among other honors, and I’ve been proud to work in my role as Senator to help continue to cultivate the kind of pro-business environment that world-class companies like Boeing need to grow and thrive,” Warner said in a statement. 

While Warner rounded the bases, fellow Democrats U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin, both of Illinois, slammed the company for the move.

Businesswoman Meredith Whitney, known as the “Oracle of Wall Street” for her spot-on predictions, ranked Illinois the second-worst place to do business in the nation, after California. In a report, Whitney said the state’s deficit due to public pension plan spending is particularly troublesome. The Better Government Association reported the state may seek a bailout from the federal government.

Sullivan, who resides in Petersburg is an internet entrepreneur running for office for the first time in the hopes of making Illinois a “shining city on a hill.” 

Apart from him, there are six other Republicans running for the same office in the June 28 primary,  state Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia), Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, former state senator Paul Schimpf, McHenry County businessman Gary Rabine, Max Solomon, and Emily Johnson.